YVONNE CRAIG aka "BATGIRL" (1937-2015) MEMORIAL SHOW

In 1967, William Dozier, creator of the Batman television series, concerned that the show’s ratings were falling, decided to introduce a female character on the side of law & order in an attempt to attract new viewers. He came up with Batgirl, who would help Batman & Robin in their crusade against the malign forces of “guest villains”. For this role, on a par with the caped crusader & the boy wonder, Dozier cast Yvonne Craig. Although Craig, who has died at 78, had then been acting in films and television for a decade, Batgirl gave Yvonne her greatest fame.

The Dynamic Duo became the Tremendous Trio when Craig first appeared in Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin, aired on 14 September 1967, the start of the 3rd & last season. As Barbara, the librarian daughter of Commissioner Gordon, she's kidnapped by the Penguin, who bullies her into agreeing to marry him. However, unknown to everyone except Alfred, the faithful butler of the billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne, Barbara has a secret crime-fighting identity. Inevitably, she escapes from the Penguin, & rescues the astonished Batman & Robin, who have been hopelessly strung up in the Penguin’s lair. Dressed in a tight-fitting purple and yellow bat outfit with pointy ears, & riding a purple, lace-trimmed motor Batcycle, Craig, playing it straight, immediately entered into the campy, satiric tone of the series. She was also able to match her two co-stars in the self-defence department, accompanied by such onomatopoeic on-screen graphics as POW!, WHAM! and CRR-ASH!.

“I think that they ultimately chose me because of my ballet background,” Craig recalled. “Though they didn’t want me to do my own stunts, I finally talked them into it.”

Join Richard with his special guest host, Robert Amberry, president of the Yvonne Craig Appreciation Society, in this special tribute to Yvonne and her career.